Olson, Bartels, Griffin for school board

The Hillsborough County School Board - the policymaking body for the county's public school system - is facing budgetary and other challenges that can only be met through strong leadership, detailed knowledge of operations and a commitment to change.

This summer, the district is staring at a $41.9 million budget deficit. With property values continuing to drop and the local economy still struggling, next year is likely to bring yet another round of purse-tightening.

Meanwhile, school officials are under the gun to reduce class sizes - an expensive undertaking mandated by voters statewide in 2002. If voters approve a proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would scale back the requirement, officials still will have to work hard to ensure compliance without compromising the quality of education.

Perhaps the biggest challenge in the classroom is implementing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant, a $100 million award. The initiative aims to reshape public education in Hillsborough by raising the classroom performances of teachers and students, among other far-reaching changes in the nation's 8th-largest district.

This is no time to seat novices with no experience in education or policymaking. The races are nonpartisan and open to all voters. (Early voting begins Aug. 9, with the primary election Aug. 24.)
District 2.

Candy Olson, 62, of Tampa is seeking a fifth term on the board. While that is a long time in one office, Olson is an articulate leader well-versed in district programs and strives to keep a fresh perspective. She routinely visits schools, talks to teachers and students and works hard to ensure students are engaged through more stimulating curriculum. She also understands the importance of the arts, sports, ROTC and other pursuits in students' lives.

"My kids' friends are now teachers," she explains. "I listen. If you don't listen to the kids and the teachers, you might as well go home."

Olson is challenged by Frank Hernandez of Tampa, an eager 29-year-old who works as student government director of Government Affairs for the University of South Florida Division of Student Affairs. He also is affiliated with ENLACE Florida, a statewide organization that works to further the education of Latinos and others.

Hernandez, running for public office for the first time, pledges to find innovative ways to "incorporate" parents into schools and promises to advocate for the community. Olson, he said, isn't "engaged enough."

Hernandez has promise, but Olson, clearly, is the better candidate, and her experience is needed. She supports amending the class-size amendment to allow for schoolwide averages, instead of set numbers per class, to reduce the financial burden. To combat the budget deficit, she advocates additional restructuring, suggests some capital projects can be delayed and says employees may need to pay more for their benefits - all reasonable steps. And she is sensitive to the need to fairly measure student and teacher growth while implementing the Gates' grant.

The Tribune endorses Candy Olson for the Hillsborough County School Board, District 2.

District 4

Jennifer Faliero, 47, of Valrico is seeking a third term. She is challenged by Richard Bartels, 61, also of Valrico, a retired school principal; Stacy White, 37, a Valrico pharmacist; and Kirk Faryniasz of Riverview, a 54-year-old former Air Force air mobility liaison officer now working as a merchandiser for a chocolate company.

Both White and Faryniasz are thoughtful, intelligent men with a genuine deserve to serve. Bartels, however, makes the stronger case for unseating the incumbent, who has been plagued by financial problems and absences.

Bartels spent 38 years as a teacher and high school administrator before retiring in 2006. Under his strong leadership, King and Freedom high schools received "A" grades from the state.

A straight shooter, he has vast experience in curriculum, instruction and overseeing capital projects - three key areas of public education. He exhibits the skills voters would want in a board member.
Bartels advocates putting a stop to what he calls the district's tendency to simply retain or transfer personnel who are not "performing."

He understands the importance of discipline and says the board should raise the criteria for students' eligibility for reinstatement to traditional schools when sent to alternative education facilities. They should have to "earn their way out." Bartels says.

Faliero has been a disappointment this term. She has missed at least 36 meetings - about 20 percent altogether, according to a review of district records by the Tribune's Sherri Ackerman.

This is a troubling record. To make informed decisions, board members need to attend public meetings and workshops, engage in debate and listen to others' comments.

Faliero says the meetings were missed "for good cause" but won't elaborate on the record. A family emergency was noted during one meeting, so she may well have good cause for some of those absences. But 36?

And Faliero says flatly that if she can talk to district staff for 30 minutes and get the information she needs, there's no need to go to a meeting.

That attitude, we believe, shortchanges the public.

Voters also shouldn't forget that Faliero, while board chairwoman, threatened to have fellow member April Griffin removed from a meeting after a disagreement in 2008. Earlier that year, she ordered the public not to identify by name any school employee they criticized, a violation of their First Amendment rights.

These moves showed poor judgment.

And in her interview with us, she was coy about what budget cuts the district should make and wouldn't elaborate.

Faliero is informed and has her share of accomplishments, but she seems to have lost perspective. In District 4, the Tribune endorses Richard Bartels.

District 6

April Griffin, 41, of Temple Terrace is seeking a second term. Three candidates are challenging her.
They are Benjamin Fink, 34, a business owner and consultant specializing in technology, who lives in New Tampa; Sally Harris, 60, of Tampa, who owns and operates a preschool and spent 18 years in the county school system as an occupational specialist; and Terry Kemple, 63, of Brandon, president of the Community Issues Council, a Christian-based organization.

All the challengers are well-intentioned and knowledgeable about key issues. But none matches Griffin's energy, determination or attention to detail.

Griffin isn't perfect. After being elected, she pursued change with more enthusiasm than expertise, but she eventually settled down and began to work effectively with administrators and others. She pushed to change a flawed hiring policy that allowed personnel who retired to be rehired at the same pay scale.

Excited about implementing the Gates' grant, Griffin understands the need to fairly evaluate teachers, to take into account their different challenges in the classroom.

She pledges to continue championing technical and career education for students who, for whatever reason, will not attend college, as well as readying students who want to attend college.

And she says students should be screened earlier for disabilities - allowing administrators and parents to create individual education plans sooner.

Griffin, who says she spends 50 to 60 hours a week on school business, brings a useful outlook to the board: Family issues not of her doing forced her to leave home when she was 17. She got her GED when she was 24, so she has an understanding of students who don't come from model homes.

The Tribune endorses April Griffin for Hillsborough County School Board, District 6.

Candidates not endorsed are invited to write rebuttals, which should be limited to 200 words. E-mail replies to tribletters@tampatrib.com or write to Letters to the Editor, Box 191, Tampa, 33601-0191.